Grand Opening set for Ohio State Driving Simulation Lab

The Ohio State University will officially open its state-of-the-art Driving Simulation Laboratory at an event from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 18.

The event will be held at the new laboratory at 1305 Kinnear Rd., Suite 194, and will include interactive demonstrations of both a full-cab, motion-base research vehicle simulator with 240-degree screen and a vehicle drive-on motion pad system.

The $1.3 million, 5,800-square-foot facility was developed in a partnership between The Ohio State University Office of Research, Honda R&D Americas, Inc., and the Ohio Supercomputer Center.

Among many other projects, researchers will use the lab to learn more about driver distraction and how to prevent it. It will allow scientists to monitor heart rate, eye movement and stress levels while in a realistic driving environment.

WHAT: Grand opening of The Ohio State University Driving Simulation Laboratory.

WHO: Speakers at the event will include: President E. Gordon Gee; Frank Paluch, senior vice president of Honda R&D Americas; Jim Petro, chancellor of the Ohio Board of Regents; and Jan Weisenberger, senior associate vice president of research at The Ohio State University.

WHEN: The facility will be open to the media from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 18. A short program will begin at 10:30 a.m. The interactive demonstrations will begin after the program.

WHERE: The Ohio State University Driving Simulation Laboratory, 1305 Kinnear Rd., Suite 194 (behind TechColumbus).